New car stress- What to get and colors choice

J

JSFM35X

Active member
So my personal DD since 2005 has been:

I have been leasing infiniti's and been very happy with the product/price to date.

2005 M35X White
2008 M35X Black
2011 M35X White (drowned in Hurricane :()
2013 M35X SPORT White Fully Loaded Sport, tech, lux and premium

so now this (lease )car (2013) is up 3/1/16 and I need to figure out where I go from here.

I never put anything down, I need 18K per year and I pay it up front bc its cheaper. I use them all and sometimes go over.

I need a car that can transport 4 adults in relative comfort. I need a trunk that can hold 2 suitcases and some other minor junk.

I need the car to not be a gas hog (I get 20 MPG over all average) and close to 30 on a long hwy trip.

I like the sport package because its fun to drive, and love the look of the wheels and calipers. I hate that I have bent 5 over this lease and I have the wheel and tire coverage so it was not to bad, just inconvenient.

Plus to going with another infiniti
1. Don't need to break in another service department
2. They will waive some minor body damage I acquired recently due to debris on the highway. I have a 1000 dollar estimate for body work and paint. And my deductible is 1K
3. Car is perfect except for some road noise that is caused by the sport tires

Negatives to getting another infiniti

1. I had several and the new one looks pretty much the same
2. I don't want black so I would get Silver, Gun Metal (Charcoal), or another white. if I get another white will I be sick of it? If I get Silver or Gun Metal will it look great when polished?
3. I had so many


What else to look at ? I need a reliable, 12 month a year all weather capable car.

My sport is not great in the snow unless I mount snow tires. I have not done that yet and may go non sport as the regular tires were fine in snow-I just love the look of the wheels.

So far I looked at Lexus and price per month is a little more but no tech package at that price point I like the blind spot warning and the back up sensors as well as the beeping on closing too fast. The Lexus GS 350 F Sport was nice but maybe a tad tight in the back with me driving. I am 6'3". It was very quiet but its not a drivers car.

Open to suggestions
 
JSFM35X -

Have had a new Lexus, Detailed a few dozen..

Hard to beat the Interiors - beautifully done, very nice finishes, some have heated/cooled seats, Mark Levinson Stereo is pretty nice..

Pretty dead quiet in there, lots of sound deadening.. Have never liked their Navigation, hard to use for me, compared to others..

Drives like - well - an Appliance - :)

I had a new, loaded, IS350 for 1 year and took it back.. Too twitchy at speed, definitely not a Driver's car like all the Bimmers I have had..

Sounds like you dont really care to drive an Appliance, so perhaps the GS-F if they make that model ?

First time they came out with the ALL NEW IS-F Model, I went down to the Dealer wearing an M5 shirt and BMW cap - it made them crazy... :)

Then when I looked at their 4-pipe exhaust and saw that the tailpipes and the fancy chrome exhaust tips were not even connected on purpose, I knew the show was over for me.. :) Really guys??? They are not connected ???

Some sales guy - probably the head guy, all red in the face came over and said this IS-F was so fast, faster than your M5, etc...

I said well if it's that fast, how about we go outside and I race you right now for Pink Slips ???

He went away and I never saw him again... :)

Good luck !
Dan F
 
I would have a real hard time getting another Infinity if they look pretty much the same. I get bored with my cars fast and always lease too. It's hard to say for sure without knowing what you're paying now and what you want your payments at. I'm guessing you're around $600-700 with 18,000 miles and zero down. I always had good luck with Acura in terms $/value but don't really care for their current lineup.

Being a lease and everything under warranty is reliability really a big factor?

I think BMW and Audi are going to best fit your fun to drive category but not sure how they'll compare payment wise. The Lexus would be a very nice ride but on the softer side I'm sure and they have never had good rates when you compare features/options you get...IMO leather and heated seats should be a standard feature on a luxury car! ;)

The Cadillac CTS/CT6 may be worth a look at too.
 
I've switched from a Blue Slate G37 Coupe to leasing an Atomic Silver Lexus RC 350 F Sport this summer. The refinement of the lexus is a step ahead but still has good road feel / handling.

I do sometimes wish i had a 4 door and in particular it would be a GS 350.

The GS interior is so much better than my RC and the NAV Screen is huge.
I think they have some of the BEST silver and gunmetal colors out there. Paint hardness seems similar to Infiniti.

Other than that, I would say a 5 series x-Drive or Audi A6 would arguably be better (less worry about reliability since is a lease)
or cough.. the new Genesis is quite an impressive automobile as well.

Watching the new unveilings at the Detroit Auto show - I'm drooling at the new Twin Turbo Infiniti Q60 coupe and BMW M2 - Lexus LC 500 is exotic and out of my reach.

FYI - Snow tires were among the best purchases i've ever made. My rwd 325i with snows gripped and handled much much better than my AWD G37 w/ All Seasons. - No Branier purchase.
 
The last 3 years I was working and driving 25K miles per year I treated myself to an Audi A6 Quattro with the twin turbo V6--it was the most enjoyable DD I've ever had--so much fun to drive it was heart breaking when I turned it in. Mpg wasn't bad as I usually averaged in the low to mid 20s. Drives about as close to a sports car as you can get in a sedan IMO. Only mistake I made was getting metallic black which was a bear to keep looking good in New Hampshire winters.

As far as colors go metallic silver and light to medium metallic blues look fantastic with a good polishing and coatings or sealants like FK1000p and are very easy to keep looking good without constant attention.
 
I mean no offense but from your description you would be well served by a Sport Ute. You'll give up a couple of MPG but you can still average 20 or better. It'll do better in the weather and most of them are pretty quick these days. I know I'm talking to the wind with this suggestion but an Explorer Sport would satisfy your criteria.
 
mg031 said:
I've switched from a Blue Slate G37 Coupe to leasing an Atomic Silver Lexus RC 350 F Sport this summer. The refinement of the lexus is a step ahead but still has good road feel / handling.

I do sometimes wish i had a 4 door and in particular it would be a GS 350.

The GS interior is so much better than my RC and the NAV Screen is huge.
I think they have some of the BEST silver and gunmetal colors out there. Paint hardness seems similar to Infiniti.

Other than that, I would say a 5 series x-Drive or Audi A6 would arguably be better (less worry about reliability since is a lease)
or cough.. the new Genesis is quite an impressive automobile as well.

Watching the new unveilings at the Detroit Auto show - I'm drooling at the new Twin Turbo Infiniti Q60 coupe and BMW M2 - Lexus LC 500 is exotic and out of my reach.

FYI - Snow tires were among the best purchases i've ever made. My rwd 325i with snows gripped and handled much much better than my AWD G37 w/ All Seasons. - No Branier purchase.
Click to expand...

The M2 and LC500 look awesome!!! As much as I'd love the M2, I think the m235ix would make more sense for me being in MN. I still have a year and a half to decide which vehicle I want next though. ;)
 
JSFM35X said:
I like the A6 as long as the service is included. Just hate the Audi brake dust. Had a M3 same problem. Loved the car hated the brakes dust.
Click to expand...

You can always change to ceramic pads or just use a coating on the wheels then just hit them with the PW.
 
Take a good look at the Audi A6. The new 2.0t is plenty of power for the car, no real need for the 3.0

You can get Audi Care which is pre paying for your maintenance at a high discount. Service is at 5k and then 10k intervals from there. The first service is free.
 
Audi has some of the best overall Interiors I have ever had the pleasure of Detailing..
They really do a nice job in there..

Audi paint is beautifully done, hard enough to take it, and come back beautifully every time..

Also have some really nice performance models to choose from.. Look at the RS models..

Their Quattro 4WD is legendary, but it makes them a little front end heavy.. If that's not an issue, then you might like them..

Only caveat I can think of is that some of them are so modularized in the engine compartment, its a nightmare to have maintenance done..

For example, I have seen the shop I used to work out of - EastSide Bavarian, Issaquah, WA., - have to take the entire engine and transmission out of an Audi to change the timing belt, because it is located in between the engine and transmission.. Over 40 hours of labor... Yikes !

Of course, if you are leasing, then its not going to be your problemo anyway... :)
Dan F
 
Mec C400? Love the look love the interior. Only scare part is options make the price climb quick. Audi's are very nice and you are leasing so you don't have to worry about the big dollar fixes at 80-100k miles. If you said you were buying and keeping for 8 years and 150-200k miles I would say Lexus what they lack in flair they make up for in long term reliability and comfort.
 
Funny, I've never found Audi brake dust to be all that big a deal.

My honest recommendation is to give a *LOT* of weight to buying something that you can get serviced by good people. I switched from Benz to Audi because my local MB dealer got bought out by somebody I can't do business with (to put it succinctly and politely). Lucky for me my Audi dealer (over an hour away, with plenty of other Audi dealers in between whom I won't let touch my cars) has a *GREAT* tech, who's the only one allowed to touch my cars. Seems like everybody makes good cars these days, but IMO it's the *dealer* (or other service facility) that you have to get along with.
 
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